White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham says the president was playing ''a quick round'' on Wednesday with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Nicklaus' professional golfer son Gary, and his grandson G.T.

Trump has also been busy tweeting since arriving in Florida Tuesday evening.

The trip is Trump's first of the season to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he typically spends Thanksgiving, Christmas and many winter weekends.

The president's trips typically include frequent visits to his nearby golf courses, where he played last year with the Nicklauses as well as with Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods. The White House rarely tells reporters when Trump is hitting the links.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/donald-trump-plays-golf-jack-nicklaus-kick-thanksgiving/#commentsAssociated Presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/about/bio/associated-presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/trump_1920_nicklaus.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/trump_1920_nicklaus.jpg11757310https://www.golfchannel.com/news/pga-tour-focused-real-action-during-tiger-phil-match/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/pga-tour-focused-real-action-during-tiger-phil-match/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/pga-tour-focused-real-action-during-tiger-phil-match/2018-11-21T10:15:00Z2018-11-21T10:18:00ZIt was entertaining, even if contrived.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods baiting each other with what would normally be obscene amounts of money – with Lefty throwing down $100,000 that he birdies the first hole. “Double it,” Tiger said with a smile.

For all the entertainment value The Match: Tiger vs. Phil may or may not provide – depending on a pay-per-view audience that remains aloof when it comes to Friday’s made-for-television event in Las Vegas – it’s neither the ratings nor the possibility for a non-stop parade of silly “bets” between the two legends that’s worth close attention.

For those within golf, the real action will be on what’s called the second screen.

Because of the event’s location and the unique head-to-head format there will be at least one segment of the golf population paying close attention to Friday’s action.

“I’m curious about every single sporting event I watch and the fan engagement opportunities that are created because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in May,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan recently told GolfChannel.com. “The timing of the match is perfect in that we are coming off of that ruling and we’re spending a lot of time going state by state representing, alongside the NBA and Major League Baseball, what we think is the proper legislation, the proper fan protections and the proper business model.”

Although Tuesday’s press conference between Woods and Mickelson focused on the playful side of the event’s betting roots, it’s what occurs away from the course that interests Tour officials.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in May to overturn the 1992 federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states created a bold new landscape for all sports leagues, but particularly the Tour.

“Assuming we get to the right place with fan protections and using the right data, our sport is in such a unique position,” Monahan said. “You look at the stick-and-ball sports, you see the ball, there’s one ball and one group of players that are all in front of you. You can see everything on one screen.

“In our sport, you’ve got 78 players out on the golf course at one point in time and we’ve got a system in ShotLink that produces a significant amount of data and a significant amount of possibilities. Think about what that can mean for our game, for our fans, it’s exciting.”

Those possibilities will get something of a cold open on Friday when Mickelson and Woods tee off at Shadow Creek. Although some say The Match is a decade too late, it’s a perfect model for officials to gauge fan interest of potential “in-play” betting. Although the Tour doesn’t have any historical data about Shadow Creek, Mickelson’s track record from, say, 10 feet (he ranked 164th last season on Tour with a 33.8 percent conversion) is well documented.

While the banter between Tiger and Phil on the first green may be entertaining, it’ll be the action on that second screen as Lefty lines up his 10-footer for birdie that Tour officials will be watching.

“You’ve got second, third and fourth screens now,” Monahan said. “I do see a day where you can have a stats-based channel, or a lot of your data that is organized around fan-engagement opportunities and gaming opportunities. I can see that.”

Since the court’s ruling in May, the Tour, along with other sports leagues, has been working with state legislators around the country to create a sports betting framework that includes fan protections and information standards that would require Tour-related bets to use the circuit’s ShotLink data.

In May, the NBA named MGM Resorts its exclusive gaming partner, and on Monday the Tour announced IMG Arena would distribute the circuit’s scoring data for media usage and sports betting purposes.

IMG Arena will distribute data to “international” regulated sports betting and gaming markets and in return IMG will support the Tour’s integrity program, which began this year as the sport braced for betting. For Monahan and the Tour, it signals a significant step toward those second and third screens and checks off many of the concerns officials have toward sports betting.

“If we can’t get to a federal framework or the right regulation on a state-by-state basis and we don’t have the proper consumer protections, that would be concerning,” Monahan said. “I’m hopeful that is something we will avoid.”

The next step will be Friday’s match between Woods and Mickelson. What kind of bets are fans interested in? What’s the level of interest for in-play bets? What’s the volume of betting?

If social media is any gauge, the price for Friday’s pay-per-view match ($19.99) appears to be too rich for some fans who are aren’t accustomed to paying for their golf. But for Tour officials who are preparing to embrace the sports betting landscape it will be money well spent.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/pga-tour-focused-real-action-during-tiger-phil-match/#commentsRex Hoggardhttps://www.golfchannel.com/authors/rex-hoggardhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2016/01/11/rex-472x392.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/monahan_1920_tourchamp18_woods.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/monahan_1920_tourchamp18_woods.jpg11756910https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vic-open-featuring-men-and-women-part-2019-lpga-schedule/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vic-open-featuring-men-and-women-part-2019-lpga-schedule/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/vic-open-featuring-men-and-women-part-2019-lpga-schedule/2018-11-21T09:51:00Z2018-11-21T09:53:00ZMELBOURNE, Australia – Golf Australia says the 2019 Vic Open, which features both men and women playing simultaneously, will be co-sanctioned by the LPGA tour.

The men's portion of the tournament has already been announced to be on the European Tour next year.

Golf Australia said Wednesday the Vic Open will be held at 13th Beach Golf Links west of Melbourne from Feb. 7-10.

The Women's Australian Open, which has been on the LPGA tour for eight years, will now be part of a two-week Australian swing.

The 2019 Women's Australian Open is scheduled for The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide from Feb. 14-17.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vic-open-featuring-men-and-women-part-2019-lpga-schedule/#commentsAssociated Presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/about/bio/associated-presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/video/thumbnail/2018/05/11/lpga_1920x1080_1230215747584.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/video/thumbnail/2018/05/11/lpga_1920x1080_1230215747584.jpg11756760https://www.golfchannel.com/news/players-experience-all-australian-weather-has-offer-world-cup/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/players-experience-all-australian-weather-has-offer-world-cup/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/players-experience-all-australian-weather-has-offer-world-cup/2018-11-21T09:31:00Z2018-11-21T09:34:00ZMELBOURNE, Australia – The World Cup of Golf is getting an early taste of Melbourne's fickle weather.

Organizers of the 28-team event at Metropolitan Golf Club have moved up tee times by an hour for Thursday's first round of the 72-hole stroke-play tournament that features fourballs (better ball) and foursomes (alternate shot) over two rounds each.

Heavy rain is in the forecast beginning in the early afternoon Thursday. Wednesday was mostly sunny after a big storm hit the course on Tuesday evening, bringing with it hail, high winds and plenty of rain.

The forecast is even worse for Friday, with cool temperatures and more rain.

Teams from Malaysia and Zimbabwe will tee off in the fourballs competition on Thursday at 7:20 a.m. with the top-ranked teams of Australia (Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith) and the United States (Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley) off last about three hours later.

Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who won the title for Denmark by four strokes two years ago at nearby Kingston Heath, are back for another attempt to win on a sandbelt course in southeast Melbourne.

''Obviously we've picked up a few things two years ago, what worked and what didn't work, mainly what worked,'' Kjeldsen said Wednesday. ''I think we've got a good idea what we need to do, but like Thorbjorn says, it's going to be very difficult. I think there are a lot of strong teams this year as well.''

Stanley said he's not too worried about the weather.

''It's one of the best golf courses in the world so it's a great venue for this week,'' he said. ''I know we've got a little weather coming in but I live in Seattle so that's no big deal for me.''

Martin Kaymer, who will represent Germany with Maximilian Kieffer, was in the same frame of mind.

''The weather forecast is what it is and we all have an umbrella and rain gear so off we go,'' Kaymer said.

The format will switch to foursomes on Friday and Sunday, with Saturday returning to fourballs.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/players-experience-all-australian-weather-has-offer-world-cup/#commentsAssociated Presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/about/bio/associated-presshttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/kuchar_1920_worldcup18_prev_app.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/kuchar_1920_worldcup18_prev_app.jpg11756560https://www.golfchannel.com/news/jack-nicklaus-arnold-palmer-still-standard-golf-rivalries/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/jack-nicklaus-arnold-palmer-still-standard-golf-rivalries/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/jack-nicklaus-arnold-palmer-still-standard-golf-rivalries/2018-11-21T08:49:00Z2018-11-21T08:53:00ZWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jack Nicklaus says if he were in a high-stakes match in Las Vegas in his prime, the most compelling opponent would be Arnold Palmer. Never mind that he considers his toughest rival to be Tom Watson. Or that he finished runner-up to Lee Trevino in majors four times in seven years.

With apologies to the super-hyped exhibition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on pay-per-view, any talk of rivalries in golf starts with Nicklaus and Palmer.

''I rarely lost to Arnold,'' Nicklaus said last week before an American Cancer Society benefit. ''We never ended up coming down the stretch every much.''

Nicklaus was a runner-up to him six times, including the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills as a 20-year-old amateur.

But unlike Woods-Mickelson, who never really squared off in a major until Woods' fifth year on the tour, Nicklaus famously beat Palmer in a playoff to win the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont in Palmer's backyard.

''Arnold and my rivalry became more from the two us,'' Nicklaus said. ''We would play together a lot. We were paired a lot. And usually we beat each other up and we ended up giving the tournament away. That's why they talk about the rivalry. Everyone was interested in who won that day, not who won the tournament.''

Nicklaus was reminded of the 1970 U.S. Open at Hazeltine, where the tournament scoreboard had the names Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player at the bottom the entire week. None of them finished in the top 40.

''I've never seen a tournament ever do anything like that,'' Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus also finished runner-up in the majors four times to Watson, all coming down to the final few holes, none more dramatic than Turnberry in 1977.

''Watson was the toughest,'' Nicklaus said. ''He was a kid with blinders on. I love the way Tom played.''

Trevino won by four shots at Oak Hill in the 1968 U.S. Open, then beat Nicklaus in a playoff at Merion in 1971 and denied Nicklaus the third leg of the Grand Slam a year later by beating him at Muirfield. And in 1974, Trevino got him by one shot at Tanglewood in the PGA Championship.

''He thrived on competitive moments,'' Nicklaus said.

But Palmer? That was different.

He said the rivalry started in 1958 when Nicklaus, an 18-year-old amateur, was invited to take part in a day honoring Dow Finsterwald.

''On the first tee we had a driving contest,'' Nicklaus said. ''Arnold drove it on the green. I drove it 30 yards over the green. I never let Arnold forget that. I'd say, 'Hey AP, we had one driving contest, I hit it 30 yards by you.' He'd say, 'Yeah, but I shot 63 that day and you shot 67.' To me, that was the start of our rivalry. Ever since we played, we always had fun with that.

''I'd say, if I hadn't shot 39 on the last nine holes at Cherry Hills, no one would have ever heard of you.' And he'd say to me, 'If I hadn't three-putted nine times in '62, nobody would have ever heard of you.' That was our banter.''

There was no social media back then. Or pay-per-view.

Doug Ferguson is a national golf writer for The Associated Press.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/jack-nicklaus-arnold-palmer-still-standard-golf-rivalries/#commentsDoug Fergusonhttps://www.golfchannel.com/authors/doug-fergusonhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2015/07/23/118x98_golflogo.pnghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/nicklaus_1920_usopen62_palmer.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/nicklaus_1920_usopen62_palmer.jpg11756360https://www.golfchannel.com/news/swing-sequence-analyzing-cameron-champs-driver-swing/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/swing-sequence-analyzing-cameron-champs-driver-swing/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/swing-sequence-analyzing-cameron-champs-driver-swing/2018-11-21T08:15:00Z2018-11-21T08:16:00ZCameron Champ emerged as the breakout star of the PGA Tour's fall season, with his win at the Sanderson Farms Championship and the ease in which he crushes balls farther than everyone else.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/swing-sequence-analyzing-cameron-champs-driver-swing/#commentsGolf Channel Digitalhttps://www.golfchannel.com/authors/golf-channel-digitalhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2016/02/16/golf_472x392_0.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/champ_1920_rsm18_swing_drive.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/champ_1920_rsm18_swing_drive.jpg11756310https://www.golfchannel.com/news/match-phil-mickelson-calls-tiger-woods-greatest-all-time/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/match-phil-mickelson-calls-tiger-woods-greatest-all-time/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/match-phil-mickelson-calls-tiger-woods-greatest-all-time/2018-11-20T17:42:00Z2018-11-20T17:42:00ZAmid all of the cheesy jabs in the run-up to The Match on Friday, Phil Mickelson wants to make one thing perfectly clear about Tiger Woods.

“[Tiger is the] greatest of all time,” Mickelson told reporters Tuesday at the pre-tournament news conference. “That’s an easy one for me. I’ve seen him do things with a golf ball that’s never been done; the performance at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach is the single-greatest performance in the history of the game of golf, and possibly all of sports, and he continued to play that way for a number of years.”

Mickelson and Woods kicked off the pre-tournament festivities with a boxing-style news conference and photoshoot. There was a small bit of news Tuesday: That Mickelson is so confident he’ll birdie the opening hole of their 18-hole match, he put up $100,000 of his own money. Woods quickly doubled it. (Side bets go to charity.)

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/match-phil-mickelson-calls-tiger-woods-greatest-all-time/#commentsGolf Channel Digitalhttps://www.golfchannel.com/authors/golf-channel-digitalhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2016/02/16/golf_472x392_0.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/mickelson_1920_match18_woods_presser_staring.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/mickelson_1920_match18_woods_presser_staring.jpg11755610https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vijay-singh-pga-tour-reach-settlement-end-lawsuit/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vijay-singh-pga-tour-reach-settlement-end-lawsuit/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/vijay-singh-pga-tour-reach-settlement-end-lawsuit/2018-11-20T17:50:00Z2018-11-20T17:11:00ZA legal battle that had been ongoing since May 2013 has been resolved, according to a statement released by the PGA Tour on Tuesday.

Vijay Singh’s lawsuit against the Tour stemmed from his anti-doping suspension when he admitted in a Sports Illustrated article he’d taken deer-antler spray that contained IGF-1, a growth hormone like HGH that is on the circuit’s list of banned substances.

Although the suspension was later rescinded, Singh filed the suit in New York Supreme Court claiming the Tour recklessly administered and implemented its anti-doping program.

“As a result of the PGA Tour’s action, Singh has been labeled by the PGA Tour, media, some fellow golfers and fans as someone who intentionally took a banned substance in an effort to gain a competitive advantage,” the initial lawsuit read.

But after five years of legal wrangling both sides reached a settlement, although no specifics were given about the settlement in Tuesday’s release and there have been no court filings in the case since July.

“The PGA Tour and Vijay Singh are pleased to announce that we have resolved our prior dispute,” Tuesday’s statement read. “The settlement reflects our mutual commitment to look to the future as we put this matter behind us.

“The PGA Tour recognizes that Vijay is one of the hardest working golfers ever to play the game, and does not believe that he intended to gain an unfair advantage over his fellow competitors in this matter.”

The statement goes on to say, “Vijay fully supports the PGA Tour’s anti-doping program and all efforts to protect the integrity of the game that he loves so much.”

Neither the Tour nor Singh, who played 10 times on Tour this season and 20 times on the over-50 circuit, made any additional statements regarding the settlement.

The settlement follows October’s announcement that a group of Tour caddies had dropped a lawsuit against the Tour that centered on the bibs caddies wear during tournaments.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/vijay-singh-pga-tour-reach-settlement-end-lawsuit/#commentsRex Hoggardhttps://www.golfchannel.com/authors/rex-hoggardhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2016/01/11/rex-472x392.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/singh_1920_schwab18_pgatour_champions_signage.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/singh_1920_schwab18_pgatour_champions_signage.jpg11755510https://www.golfchannel.com/news/matt-kuchar-kyle-stanley-paired-home-team-world-cup/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/matt-kuchar-kyle-stanley-paired-home-team-world-cup/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/matt-kuchar-kyle-stanley-paired-home-team-world-cup/2018-11-20T11:32:00Z2018-11-20T11:38:00ZWith the PGA Tour officially on hiatus until the new year, attention in the world of golf shifts south this week for the World Cup of Golf in Australia. Here's a look at some of the marquee opening-round tee times for the team event, where the American contingent will play alongside the host nation at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne (all times ET):

Ancer will look to extend his run of good play in Oz, having cruised to victory at last week's Australian Open. He and Diaz will be joined by a pair of Scots who play primarily on the PGA Tour, as Knox has narrowly missed out on making the last two European Ryder Cup teams while Laird tied for seventh last month at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

An contended last week at the Australian Open before tying for 10th, and he'll join Kim who won The Players in 2017 and lost a playoff this spring at the RBC Heritage. Li dazzled at last year's Open and nearly topped Justin Rose earlier this month at the Turkish Airlines Open, while Wu captured the European Tour's KLM Open in September.

This group should bring a smile to Thomas Bjorn's face, as three of the four represented Europe at Le Golf National at the Ryder Cup. Hatton and Poulter were part of the fire that lifted Europe to victory in Paris, while Olesen qualified for his Ryder Cup debut and now returns to the World Cup as a defending champ, having won the event in 2016 alongside Kjeldsen at nearby Kingston Heath.

This tee time will draw plenty of eyeballs, as Leishman and Smith represent the home contingent at one of Australia's most famous courses. Leishman won the CIMB Classic last month, while Kuchar ended a lengthy victory drought two weeks ago in Mexico. Both Smith and Stanley ended their seasons at the 30-man Tour Championship in September.

]]>https://www.golfchannel.com/news/matt-kuchar-kyle-stanley-paired-home-team-world-cup/#commentsWill Grayhttps://www.golfchannel.com/about/bio/will-grayhttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2016/01/11/will-grey-472x392.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/kuchar_1920_aussieopen18_wed_practice.jpghttps://www.golfchannel.com/sites/default/files/2018-11/kuchar_1920_aussieopen18_wed_practice.jpg11754610https://www.golfchannel.com/news/cameron-champ-replaces-kevin-chappell-qbe-shootout-field/
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/cameron-champ-replaces-kevin-chappell-qbe-shootout-field/#commentshttps://www.golfchannel.com/news/cameron-champ-replaces-kevin-chappell-qbe-shootout-field/2018-11-20T11:17:00Z2018-11-20T11:20:00ZA breakout fall for Cameron Champ will include one more tournament before the calendar flips to 2019.

The long-hitting Champ has been added to the 24-person field for the QBE Shootout, replacing Kevin Chappell who withdrew because of injury. Champ will take Chappell's spot as teammate for Kevin Kisner in the 54-hole team event.

Champ has wasted little time in getting his rookie season off the ground, winning for the first time at the Sanderson Farms Championship and then adding two more top-10 finishes at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and RSM Classic. Ranked outside the top 1000 in the world at the start of the year, Champ is up to 97th following his sixth-place showing at Sea Island.

Champ and Kisner will join a field in Naples, Fla., that will also include defending champs Steve Stricker and Sean O'Hair, a long-hitting pair in Lexi Thompson and Tony Finau, as well as last week's winner, Charles Howell III, paired with former world No. 1 Luke Donald.

The Dec. 7-9 event will feature one round of scramble, one round of modified alternate shot and one round of fourball.